Amtrak files 'long overdue' complaint over CN delays

Jon Hilkevitch: Getting Around

It's almost a perfect record, but one of delay and passenger despair: 99 percent of Amtrak's Chicago-to-New Orleans trains grind to a halt because of freight traffic under the control of the Canadian National Railway, according to Amtrak.

The delays totaled thousands of hours of lost time for passengers in fiscal 2011, Amtrak said in a complaint it filed against CN with the federal Surface Transportation Board.

No other freight railroad comes close in the severity and regularity of freight-imposed delays, Amtrak officials said.

More than 4,000 instances of freight train interference on Amtrak's City of New Orleans route and on Amtrak service between Chicago and Carbondale were counted on the CN-owned rail lines last year, Amtrak said in the complaint. The delays totaled the equivalent of more than 26 days, Amtrak said.

"CN's performance in dispatching Amtrak trains has been dismal," Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said. "Amtrak filed the complaint with the Surface Transportation Board only after repeated attempts to remedy the problem directly with CN proved unsuccessful."

Some regular Amtrak passengers who travel through the CN corridor are well-aware of the freight problem on the short leg between Chicago and Joliet. They said south of Joliet, where the tracks are owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad, the trip goes much more smoothly.

"Departures have been on time, but the freight traffic outside Chicago consistently has us standing for 30 to 40 minutes each trip," said Adam Konopka, 27, of Chicago, who boarded an Amtrak train to St. Louis on Friday at Union Station. "I haven't experienced a mechanical problem aboard the train, to my knowledge. But heavy freight traffic is almost expected. Being on time would change the whole experience."

Amtrak's complaint marks the first test of a provision in a 2008 law that established on-time performance standards as part of a program designed to improve passenger rail travel. The goal is for trains to arrive at their final destinations within 15 minutes of the schedule at least 80 percent of the time. The law is being challenged in court by the Association of American Railroads, which represents the freight rail industry.

According to the complaint, other freight lines don't interfere with Amtrak's schedule on the level of Canadian National. On average, Amtrak's delays last year caused by other freight railroads were within the legal standard, but delays on the CN exceeded the limit in every quarter of fiscal 2011.

For instance, for Amtrak train run No. 392, which serves Chicago and Carbondale, on-time performance was only 58 percent in the last year, Amtrak records show. The top three causes of delay were listed as freight train interference, 73 percent; track and signals, 16 percent; and passenger-related, 4.5 percent.

"Customers buy a ticket for a train on a certain schedule, and they have a right to expect good performance," Magliari said. "And so do we as a customer of CN."

In the complaint, Amtrak cited CN's "abject failure to deliver Amtrak passenger trains on schedule," and it blamed the delays on "(CN) policy choices and an unlawful preference for freight trains over Amtrak trains."

Amtrak asked the Surface Transportation Board to investigate the causes of the delays on CN tracks and to determine whether CN is systematically violating a federal law that grants preference to passenger trains over freight trains. The board can fine CN to deter future violations.

"Freight trains are supposed to give way to Amtrak. When they refuse, Amtrak passengers face unacceptable delays. I hope the Surface Transportation Board will respond quickly," Durbin said.

The process is getting off to a slow start. The board approved a CN request to extend the deadline for its response to the complaint to March 9.

"We are reviewing the Amtrak petition. We had been discussing these matters with Amtrak for much of 2011 and are disappointed Amtrak chose to file this action rather than continue those talks," CN spokesman Patrick Waldron said.

CN has also been embroiled in controversy since it purchased the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Co. for $300 million in 2008. Suburban Chicago residents have deluged the railroad and regulatory agencies with complaints about increased freight traffic causing delays and threatening safety at railroad crossings.

The CN dispute with Amtrak will require the patience of travelers who understand the unrealized advantages of taking the train over driving or flying.

"I've endured multiple delays, sometimes a couple on one trip, that can cause the train to arrive an hour to an hour and a half late because of the freight trains," said Diane Breslow, 63, of Chicago, before beginning her once-a-month trip to St. Louis on Friday at Union Station.

Breslow said one of every three trips she takes on Amtrak is delayed by freight trains. She emailed the Tribune about six hours into her trip Friday to say it was happening again — but this time it wasn't CN's fault, she said.

"Today's train is running well over one hour late, and NOT due to CN at all," Breslow wrote. "Computer problems on train, stalls. And needing to let other Amtrak trains pass. Pretty bad experience. One of the worst, actually."